I wanted to get a few more albums reviewed in this set but I was waiting for a few albums to come in the mail. They did not make it/have not made it to my door step yet. Maybe next week. We'll see what comes next week.
This is the third 7” release from indie punk band Bleached.
It was released in limited quantities in 2011. There are just two tracks on
this single. The record was supposed to come with a download coupon for MP3
versions of the tracks. For some reason ours did not. I didn’t think that was a
big deal since we were at the show and got the band to sign the cover of the
record anyway. I think it is a fair trade to have the band sign and not have a
MP3 code. Thanks again Bleached for signing that record cover! The two tracks
on this record are mind blowing too. The A-side track is called Searching
Through The Past. It is very simple punk with great female vocals. This combination
has been done before but this time there is something slightly different. I am
not sure if it is the cheap sounding Fender bass guitar or the Sears Danelectro
guitar that the lead singer plays but it makes the song so perfect. The lyrics
help this song tremendously too. The B-side of this record is a song called
Electric Chair. This song is very similar to the previous with exception to the
bass line. It steps out of line and brings attention to itself in just the
right way. The lyrics are just as good as the previous track but with more
energy I think. It is a powerful song but not quite single material. I would
totally play this track over the A-side at a party though. I love both songs
and have been listening to them hard core since the concert last weekend. Based
on just these two songs and the concert, I can recommend this group to anyone
and everyone. Check out their web page with info on releases, videos etc. here.
This is the fifth album from Falling up. It was released in
2011. This album was released independently. The band held a fund raiser on the
internet to get the album recorded. They needed $10,000 and received donations
totaling $13,665. The album title is a complete different direction from the
past album titles. The band stated that the title of the album “is a
title/album/idea that sometimes we all must go through the darkest cave to find
the brightest light.” There were two singles released from this album and a
bonus track that was available to patrons that preordered the album from the
bands web page. The first single is called Blue Ghost. The song still pushes
the power of Falling Up with strong vocals and over produced arrangement but
this song and most of the album seems to slow down and push the emotion card
more so than in the past. The second single called Diamonds is an even slower
track that loses the power and drive of the first single. This track has a
great hook in the chorus redeeming the track greatly. The vocals in the verse
are mostly spoken with directness but lacking intensity. The bonus track,
Darkspeed, brings the band closer to true form. There are interesting guitar
parts and synth backups with forceful and wonderful vocals. The album as a
whole really drags. The music is good but not what I expect from the group. It
is a darker album, almost a sad emotional album. I guess that I could have
expected that with the song title and what the band said about the album title.
I am glad that I have the album but I don’t think I could recommend this album
to someone looking into the group.
This is the first album released from the Foo Fighters. It
was released in the summer of 1995. I remember when this album came out. It was
so awesome that Dave Grohl decided to continue writing music after the death of
Curt and consequential disbanding of Nirvana. The first single released from
the album as a promo only 12” single was Exhausted. I don’t remember ever
hearing this on the radio but apparently it was featured on Eddie Vedder’s
Self-Polution radio broadcast in 1995. What I do remember is the second single,
This Is A Call, being played repeatedly on regular radio stations where I live.
This song was obviously their first big hit. The song is really a thank you to
Grohl’s friends, family and anyone else that has helped him or played music
with him in the past. I though that the song was fun but did not get the whole
thank you bit that it was meant for. The next single from the album is called
I’ll Stick Around. This song is about Cobain’s widow with whom the other two
members of Nirvana are constantly battling over royalties and song rights. It
is another big hit for the group. The fourth single from this album is called
For All The Cows. This track has a slow verse/chorus but there are short parts
of the song is very hard rocking. It is a really great contrast in the song.
The next single from the album is called Big Me. The most memorable thing about
this track is the video. It is a parody for the Mentos commercials that were
around at the time. It is a very funny video where they are pushing Footos as
opposed to Mentos. The last single released was a promo only single just like
the first song released. This song is called Alone + Easy Target. This song was
originally recorded in 1991. Grohl played the song for Cobain. Cobain said to
him after listening to the track, “Oh, finally, now I don't have to be the only
songwriter in the band!” Grohl told him, “No, no, no, I think we're doing just
fine with your songs.” The other track that I really liked and was never
released as a single was X-Static. There is something special about this song
to me. It may be the layered guitars with the simple competing guitar riffs
that match and fill in the empty parts in each or it could be Grohl’s smooth
vocals but this song is near perfection in alternative music for me. I should
also mention that this whole album was written and recorded by Dave with the
exception of X-static where Greg Dulli also played guitar. I think that this is
one of the best albums to come out of the 90s especially after the hard hitting
grunge effort started to fade a bit. I recently found a copy of this album on vinyl. I think it is a original pressing for only 30 bucks. I bought it as soon as possible because I knew it was a rare find. From what I have seen it is going for 100 bucks right now. 
This is the groups’ second full length album. It is the
first album that gave them recognition. It was released in 2007. They are a
Christian alterna-rock group. This is my big attraction to them. I was at one
time looking for bands that were pushing the fact that they were Christian and
musician. This is one of the bands that I stumbled upon in that search. The big
single from the album is called Just Glide. This is the song that got me
involved with the group. It is a very up beat track. There are piano, a gritty
distorted guitar that sounds so good you could eat it as if it were chocolate,
and really good harmonies that make this song sit in your heart like it was
meant to be there all of your life. I am not sure if there are any other tracks
that were released as singles from this album. Not that it really matters the
rest of the album is recorded just as brilliantly as this single. There are a
couple additional tracks that I would like to highlight though. The first song
is called Lights. This song is a little bit slower than the first single but it
uses the same elements from that song. It is a nice soaring track that has
slivers of Coldplay in it. The other track that I want to mention is called You
Are. This track actually reminds me of Ben Folds with the piano that sticks out
of this song. There still has nice guitar sounds but they don’t stand out on
top of the piano like the lead single from the album.
That is all I have for now...
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